All Hope Lost
by Uphoriah
Summary: [AU] Her last remaining family member gone, Kimiko has no idea how to survive on her own. On the verge of desperation, she places herself in a brothel and there meets someone who changes her view of the world. [JackxKim, RaixKim]


**All Hope Lost

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_Disclaimer:_ Don't own Xiaolin Showdown at all, nope.

**Rating:** T?  
(I'm not too good with ratings.)

**Summary:** **(AU) **Her last remaining family member gone, Kimiko has no idea how to survive on her own. On the verge of desperation, she places herself in a brothel and there meets someone who changes her view of the world.

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**Chapter I: It was Raining.**

She remembered that day. It was raining; the cold drizzle falling to the earth like tears from the sky, from _Heaven_. She felt her throat tighten and managed a dry swallow. Her eyelashes were still damp from the weeping hours earlier; the tears had stopped flowing, no more would come out. She recalled counting them as they slid down, feeling the saltiness as they glided over her rosy lips, the _warmth_ and _emotions_ reflected in every watery droplet.

_Warmth_. That was the difference between her tears and the rain that poured that day. The downpour only chilled one's body to the bone, but human tears, they were a mood lifting thing. Somehow, crying made her feel slightly less exhausted. Her arms draped around her bent knees wrapped tighter and drew her thighs closely to her body as she nestled there in a dark corner of her room. A lone flickering candle on the table was the only source of light and heat.

Beside the burning candle was a bowl of tonight's meal; a small batch of white rice with every grain still intact since the meal was first prepared; untouched, unscathed. Kimiko knew if she even attempted to swallow just a single grain, it would taste like ash in her mouth. She was in no mood to eat though her last meal was a day before the death.

Dropping her head and burrowing it into her knees, she gave a sob and her shoulder shook a little. The funeral was tomorrow and here she was with her hair a knotted mess, her face and skin oily and grimy from the tears; Kimiko hadn't bathed for days and she was supposed to attend a funeral looking clean and respectable?

_Depression_. Losing sight in all things you care about, lacking the motivation to do anything, void of euphoric emotions, experiencing the feeling of hopelessness…

Earlier in the day people had stopped by to sincerely give their grievances and sympathies. They left presents, gifts to help the young girl in her moment of grief, and offerings to assist her whenever she needed the help. It was kind of them to do so, but Kimiko only wanted to be left alone. In her mind, she believed they were giving her pitiful looks and imagined them talking of her on the streets.

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_"Oh, did you hear about Tohomiko Kimiko-san? She's left all alone now, and I heard she doesn't have a single relative around."  
"Poor thing. It'll be tough surviving at this time of year since the freeze is coming soon. I hope she makes it."_

She wanted to disappear, melt into the bedcovers, become one with the earth…There was nothing left to stop her now, she could easily do it; swayed to give up on life. She gave a sharp intake of breath and exhaled; the quickened breaths you get after long periods of shedding tears.

Tomorrow. _The Funeral_.

Kimiko was afraid of the future day. She'd be the only one to attend related to the deceased. She'd have to participate in the full ritual all by herself; it was her duty. She lazily tilted her head back as a way of lifting it and her eyes focused on the radiating glow of the flame. It danced with life; something she was lacking at the moment. It was warm; she only felt cold. It was bright; her thoughts were filled with angst and dreariness. It washed itself in light; her corner was dark.

The candle wax had dripped down the candlestick and had been burning for hours leaving a fourth of the stick still left to melt. Most of the wax lied at the bottom of the stand in a solid pool. Sooner it later it would snuff out; like life itself.

"Oh, Papa." She sobbed again and her head collapsed back into her arms as her unkempt hair draped down the sides, concealing her face.

Tomorrow would be a gloomy day, for it was the day of Tohomiko Toshiro's funeral.

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**Ending Notes;;  
**Okay, so the first chapter ended up starting off very slow and I felt it skipped around a bit. And all honesty, it came off as random, but it is the best I could cook up. Hopefully the next one will be better. n.n;;  
While writing this, I tried listening to the saddest mp3s I could think of to set me "in the mood," so hopefully I made this first chapter come along as angsty, sad, etc. It is an "alternate universe" fic, so I don't think there will be much shen gong wu searching and episode references. 

This is my 2nd XS fanfic, and my 2nd fanfic ever, in truth. Hope you enjoy this new plotline, and feel free to check out my other piece: "One Wu Love." I counted up three pairings since first cooking up this plot and I think there will be more as the story goes along.

The pairingstotal up toRaixKim, JackxKim, & PandaxKim (Oh yes, Pandabubba. :( Trust me, it's not mutual.)

**R&R** if you like.


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